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4,000 Jews Absent During World Trade Center Attack

October 22, 2001

Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, a rumor circulated on the Internet claimed that 4,000 Jews did not report to work, or "called in sick" that morning. It suggested that no Jews died because they somehow had foreknowledge of the attack. There are several variations of this rumor, including one suggesting that Israel was behind the attacks.

Such rumors are absurd. Among those who died in the collapse of the Twin Towers were scores of Jews. Their lives, and their untimely deaths, have been widely documented on television, in newspapers and in makeshift memorials across New York City. The terrorists who targeted the World Trade Center did not distinguish between the many Christian, Jewish and Muslim workers in the building who perished.

These rumors appear to have originated in the Arab world. They are among several conspiracy theories being circulated in the Arab and Muslim media, as well as on Web sites and bulletin boards, that Israel or the Jews - and not Arab terrorists - were responsible for the attacks on September 11.